Effective removal of MIB and geosmin using MBBR for drinking water treatment. (1st February 2019) - Doederer, Katrin
Abstract: Biodegradation is an effective method for the removal of taste and odour (T&O) compounds from drinking water sources. In this study, the applicability of a moving-bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) as biological treatment step for the control of MIB and geosmin was studied at pilot-scale. After a 3.5 month acclimation period both T&O compounds could be reliably removed by at least 80%. Biodegradation was found to be the dominant removal mechanism with air stripping contributing up to 25% at shorter HRTs. Also sorption of MIB and geosmin onto carriers and biofilm did occur, simultaneously facilitating the biodegradation process. The biodegradation of MIB and geosmin followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: MBBR in drinking water treatment can effectively control MIB and geosmin. HRTs of 30 min resulted in high MIB and geosmin removals >75%. Biodegradation major removal mechanism. Air stripping contributes 25% at HRTs <2 h.